


Something's Different

by officialscientist



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe- Genocideswap, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Genocideswap Sans, Undertale Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-10 06:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5573677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/officialscientist/pseuds/officialscientist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's just another reset. There's no harm in switching things up a bit, right? After all, nothing really matters in the end. This time, it's Sans' turn to create his own ending, no matter the cost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The Underground was quiet that day. There hadn't been a reset in a few weeks, which made Sans a little skeptical, but he couldn't complain too much.  _ I mean, any day that I don’t have to see that demon is a good day, right? _

 

Passing through the bars that his brother built way too wide, Sans made his way to his station by the door to the ruins, as he does everyday. He thought about what a dork his brother was, and chuckled to himself. " _ Maybe today won’t be so bad. _ _ "  _ he thought. 

 

He arrived at his station and just started to get settled, when suddenly, a small confused child walked through the door and down the pathway.

 

“ And there’s Frisk, right on cue .” He muttered. Gritting his teeth, he quickly teleported behind one of the trees.

 

Sans didn’t particularly like the idea of going through a couple days dealing with Frisk, so it was easier if he just killed the kid then and there. He knew that it would go against his promise to her, but they hadn’t talked in a  _ long _ time... One day, he just stopped showing up. He almost felt bad about it, but he didn’t feel too much these days. And with the resets getting more and more frequent, he figured that there wasn’t much point in trying to save the kid anymore… Besides, this wouldn’t be the first time he’d killed Frisk.

 

Sans walked out from behind the trees and followed Frisk at a respectable distance.  _ Crunch.  _ There was the branch, right on cue. He disappeared as Frisk turned around and inspected the area. After a few seconds, they turned back around and continued walking. With every step, Frisk got closer and closer to the bars, but before they could reach the end, Sans was already behind them.

 

“ Don’t you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand .” Sans was breathing down Frisk’s neck at this point, and he could almost feel how strongly the child was shaking. He knew that seeing the kid so terrified should have phased him, but still, Sans felt nothing. As soon as the child turned around Sans did a bone attack from underneath them, killing them instantly. 

 

The bones faded away slowly, leaving Sans to look at Frisk’s lifeless body…  _ Again.  _ He should have been disgusted with himself, but with the amount of times he’d done this before, he felt nothing.

 

He started to walk away, but before he could even take a step, he was suddenly thrown into a battle. Sans whipped around to find an old goat lady shaking, but determined. She had nothing but a small piece of pie in her hands. He recognized it as Frisk’s pie that they carried around, and seeing that, he realized that Frisk didn't have it with them this time.

 

“H-How could you..?” the old lady stammered, struggling to get her words out. 

 

Sans recognized her voice, but before he could even respond, she attacked at full force. He dodged her easily . He looked at her and saw nothing but grief and revenge in her eyes. He so badly wished that he felt sorry for what he did.  He tried to explain the situation, but he knew that to her, his words would mean nothing. Sans’ voice was monotone and unapologetic.

 

“ Lady, I’m sorry, but you have to understand tha- ” Sans was cut off with another attack. He dodged again but could see that she was angry. He suddenly realized that since the game reset itself, she had no recollection of talking with him.

 

“You soulless child killer!! You're _pathetic_ , just like all the others! I knew I should have never let them go into the underground alone!!!” The goat lady continued to yell, scream, and throw attacks, but he just stood there blankly, dodging each one like it was nothing. Sans felt this was an inconvenience to him. He wished he felt something more, but all this was doing was making him angry. 

 

Losing his temper, Sans finally lashed back at her with all his might. She slammed against the tree, and everything was silent for a moment as Sans stared at her. For a few seconds his face was expressionless, until he fully processed what just happened…

 

Sans got his wish.

 

With an immediate rush of emotion, he hurried over to her as fast as he could to try and help, but she quickly turned away. Sans frantically looked for a way to cover up the blood that he had caused her to shed, but she shoved him off with what little strength she had left. The lady coughed up more blood. She was too weak to fight back anymore…

 

_ Sans, you idiot. What have you done? _ ...  __

 

Sans sat there in silence for a while, just staring at her. He knew that there was nothing he could do to bring her back, but he still felt compelled to look for something, anything. Maybe she had a spell on her.

 

Looking through her pockets, he found a book.  _ 72 uses for snails. _

He opened it up to the first page, where it read **PROPERTY OF TORIEL.**

 

Sans paused. He thought about her name for a while. He thought that maybe if he pushed it out of his mind, she wouldn’t really be there. That if he didn’t say it, it wouldn’t be real. 

 

Sans watched, motionless as she turned to dust. For a long time nothing but her soul lingered in the air before that too, cracked and disappeared. He was silent for a long time.

 

When Sans finally did speak, he spoke softly. His voice was shaking. “ Tori, I’m -” He stopped. Watching her turn to dust was just too much, even for him. Sans knew Toriel. In some timelines, he even had a life with her. She was his family. He wished that he felt worse about what he did, but all he could do was wonder what was happening to him. 

 

She called him  _ pathetic… soulless  _ even. Sometimes he felt that way, but he never thought that he would go this far. He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream and lash out, but instead he just turned and sat in silence. 

 

After a moment, he stood, completely emotionless, pushing his emotions aside as usual. He figured that this would all reset soon anyway, and that everything would be fine… But he couldn’t help but feel like he was falling apart.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Sans took longer than usual to get back to his house that day. Usually, he teleported. Today however, he decided to walk, thinking that a little fresh air might clear his head.  He was travelling past the outskirts of Snowdin, when he noticed that he was being avoided by most of the creatures. He didn’t think much of it, until he was approached by a very particular monster.

  


_ Battle engaged with Ice Cap. _

  


“Hey, Sans! Have you looked at my hat today?”

  


Sans ignored him and continued walking, only watching his feet. Ice Cap quickly cut him off. He seemed annoyed.

  


“What? What are you doing? Did I forget to mention that it’s freshly sharpened? Good as new!” 

  


Sans continued to ignore him and kept walking. Not watching where he was going, he bumped directly into Ice Cap, knocking off his hat. Sans let out a low growl, but controlled himself. Not raising his head from the ground, he spoke.

  


“ Hey, buddy, if we could please  _ not  _ do this right now, that would be real great. You see, friend, i’m not really having the best day today and- ” Ice Cap cut him off.

  


“ _ You’re  _ not having a good day?! What about  _ me _ ?? You come in here, first you  _ IGNORE _ me, and then you still have the decency to knock my hat onto the ground?!? Well I think-”

  


Before anyone knew what was going on, Ice Cap turned to dust. Sans clenched his fists tight and continued walking home, still never looking up from his feet.

  


Once he arrived home, Sans was greeted at the door by an overly-enthusiastic Papyrus. His little brother immediately started to tell him all about the wonderful day he had with Undyne at the castle, but Sans didn’t stop for him this time. Usually when he got jumpy like that, it put Sans in a good mood, but not today. He continued up to his room without looking back, and shut the door in his brother’s face.

  


Sans sighed heavily and plopped down on his bed. He couldn’t feel a damn thing. Papyrus spent a long time knocking outside his door, but Sans figured that if he was silent, Papyrus would eventually go away. He didn’t know why, but the thought of Papyrus being there in general made him angry. Luckily, Sans could hear his brother go down the stairs, leaving him to think.

  


How was it that Papyrus always stayed so happy despite everything that had happened? Despite everything that Sans had gone through... But still, he could never actually tell his brother how many times he’d saved his ass. Thinking about how happy everyone else got to be made him furious

  


“Why does Papyrus get to have a good life while I sit here and suffer? Why can’t he just take care of himself?! It’s not always my fucking job to save everybody!!”

  


There was a loud crash that could be heard through the house as Sans punched the wall as hard as he could. His eye was glowing bright blue.

  


He could hear his brother climbing the stairs. There was a knock at his door again.

  


“SANS?? SANS ARE YOU OK IN THERE?!” His brother yelled, and Sans took a moment to collect himself before answering.

  


“...Yeah, Papyrus. It’s- uh… There’s nothing to worry about. I’m.. I’m fine.” Papyrus continued to try to talk to Sans through the door, but after that Sans became unresponsive, and eventually his brother went away.

  


Sans laid down on his bed, staring at the ceiling, and sighed. He couldn’t help but feel relieved that his brother was gone. He wondered what kind of person that made him. He didn’t wonder long though, because a few minutes later he could hear Papyrus making noise in the kitchen. Sans rolled over in his bed and covered his head with a pillow to try and relieve some of the annoyance.

  


After a little while, he started to fall asleep.

  


\-------------------

  


Sans awoke to quiet knocking at his door. It was hard to tell how long he was out, but basing it off of his usual sleeping habits, it had to be at least a few hours.

  


“SANS? ARE YOU IN THERE? DO NOT BE ALARMED, FOR IT IS ONLY I, YOUR LOVING BROTHER, PAPYRUS. MAY I COME IN??” Hearing his brother’s voice again was just as annoying as it was earlier, which alarmed Sans a little, but at the same time he couldn’t care less.

  


“Sure, buddy.” Sans tried to act natural like he usually does, and sat up before his brother walked in.

  


“HELLO, SANS! I NOTICED YOU WERE UPSETTI, SO I MADE SOME SPAGHETTI!!” Papyrus said as he held out a large plate of spaghetti and smiled. 

  


The smell wasn’t the greatest, but it’s the thought that counts. Sans would normally laugh at his brother’s poor attempt at a pun, but he couldn’t even manage to muster up a fake smile this time. Everything about this situation pissed him off.

  


“COME ON, BROTHER, LIGHTEN UP! I MADE THIS JUST FOR YOU.” Papyrus started to walk over to Sans, but was stopped by his brother’s standing. Sans was trying way too hard to control himself, and it was scaring him. 

  


“Pap, stop. Just.. leave me alone right now, and I promise i’ll fix whatever’s wrong with me, ok? But for now,” Sans grit his teeth . “could you just…  _ Please _ go away.”

  


“HEY, SANS, DON’T WORRY! THERE REALLY IS NOTHING THAT SPAGHETTI CAN’T FIX.” Papyrus smiled again and tried to walk towards Sans, but was stopped dead in his tracks by a bone attack that was shot directly in front of him. Sans’ eye was glowing bright blue again and his breathing was heavy.

  


“d-dammit Papyrus. I just don’t u-understand..” Sans was shaking with rage. “I-I don’t understand why you feel the need to be so optiMISTIC ALL THE GODDAMN TIME!!!”

  


Sans lashed out again, turning away from his brother and throwing bone attacks at the wall over and over. The fire in his eye was blazing. Papyrus stood silent for a while as his brother wore himself out a bit. Sans was panting hard, still not facing his brother.

  


“BROTHER... I CAN HELP YOU. WE CAN JUST CALL UNDYNE AN-”

  


“Papyrus, god dammit, just stop!! You’re not going to “save” me, alright?? Are you actually that stupid?!? Haven’t you noticed that I don’t want to take care of you anymore?? Can’t you see that I’m tired of you, Papyrus? HAVE YOU PAID ANY ATTENTION TO ME AT ALL… Or are you still too busy looking for your brother!?!

  


because if you’re looking for Sans.. You can stop, Pap.

  


he- uh… he died a long time ago”

  


The room fell silent.

  


All that could be heard was a plate of spaghetti crashing to the floor.

  


Sans clenched his fists tight.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, I'd just like to say thank you so much for reading. This is the first fanfic i've every written so it means a lot :) This idea was something that I came up with on my own. I'm calling it genocideswap, and if you haven't figured out why yet, i'm sure you will soon. I'm actually pretty motivated to finish this, so the next chapter should be out in just a few days, maybe even tomorrow. Thanks again for taking the time to read this!!


	3. Chapter 3

“S-SANS… I-”

 

Sans was silent for a while. He thought about turning around and saying sorry. He wanted to feel bad for saying those things to him, but deep down he knew it was all true. He was tired of taking care of everybody. Always being everyone’s savior, only to be double crossed by that kid over and over, all because of a stupid promise. He thought about the life he used to have and wondered if he’d ever  _ truly _ feel happy again. The last person in the world he’d ever wanted to hurt was his brother. But then again, a couple hours ago, he would have said the same thing about Toriel. Sans looked down at the floor and shook his head.

 

“Go away, Papyrus.”

 

“BROTHER PLEA-”

 

“...Leave!” Sans spoke sternly, his voice echoing throughout the room. He heard slow footsteps, and then his door shut. He stood still and continued to listen. Distantly, he could hear the house door shut. Sans felt numb all over.

 

He teleported to the only place he felt at peace.

 

_ Grillby’s _

 

\-----------------------------

 

When he got there, Sans was greeted by familiar faces. He smiled and made some small talk with his friends, but he knew he wasn’t actually happy to see them. There was only one person there that he really wanted to talk to and that was Grillby. 

 

Sans sat down at the stool near in corner, and without a moment to spare, Grillby was already walking over to him with a plate. The usual;  _ A burger, fries, and a cup full of nothing but ketchup. _ Sans looked pleased. 

 

“So, what brings you by today, Sansy?”

 

“Not much today, buddy. Just looking for a place to get some food, and take a load off.” Sans smiled and shrugged. Grillby shook his head.

 

“Don’t lie to me, Sans. I know you better than that. What happened?”

 

“Do you ever wonder if doing the right thing is worth it?” Sans sighed.

 

“Sans?... What happened.”

 

“You see right through me, Grills. But maybe that’s just because I’m hollow inside.” Sans jokingly pulled up his shirt and knocked on his ribs.

 

“You’re hollow alright.” Grillby chuckled. “Sans, will you please just tell me what happened? For me, an old friend?”

 

“I  _ guess _ I got into a little fight with my brother”

 

“You…  _ Guess _ ? _ ” _

 

“Well, maybe it was a big fight. But I don’t really feel like talking about it right now.” Sans took a bite of his sandwich. He felt uneasy.

 

“Where’s your brother now?”

 

“He… Walked out”

 

“Did you say something to him?”

 

“I… I said a lot of mean things to him.” Sans thought about what he said to his brother. He felt awful about all of it. What was he thinking? Papyrus was his brother, and he loved the big dork. Of course he was ok with taking care of him. Sans was relieved to find his emotions slowly coming back, even if they were mostly guilt.

 

Sans spoke again. “You know what Grillby? I was being dumb.” He shook his head. “I have to go find my brother. Thanks for the food, as always. You can just put it on my tab.”

 

Sans teleported away.

 

\-----------------------------

 

The first place he thought to look was by Papyrus’ most beloved puzzle, the one with all the spaghetti. Sans teleported there first.

 

Upon arriving, he immediately started to search the area. He started at the spaghetti, but then moved backwards towards his own puzzle. He called out for Papyrus over and over…

 

_ But nobody came. _

 

After walking all the way back to the door to the ruins, Sans decided to look somewhere else.

 

_ He’s probably just with Undyne. That’s where he usually goes when he’s upset.  _ He wasn’t too sure that he would be there. It was only a blind hope at this point, but Sans was determined to make things right with his brother.

 

Without anymore delay, Sans teleported there.

 

He knocked on Undyne’s door over and over until the fish lady appeared. She was wearing Mew Mew Kissy Cutie pajama bottoms and a tee shirt.  _ Must be a gift from Alphys,  _ Sans thought. Undyne didn’t look pleased with his arrival.

 

“Who’s at the door?!” Someone shouted from inside. It was Alphys. 

 

The scientist walked over join them, and Sans saw that she was wearing matching Mew Mew Kissy Cutie PJ’s. The only difference is that Alphys was also holding an MMKC plushie. She looked down and quickly hid it behind her back and blushed. Sans started laughing hard at the sight of the nerds. Undyne was quick to cut him off, but Sans was glad to see that he could still laugh. As she talked, he had a stupid grin on his face.

 

“Did you need something, Sans? It’s almost midnight.” Undyne said. Her words were angry, but he could tell that she was trying her hardest to behave, since Alphys was with her. It hadn’t dawned on Sans just how long he had been looking for his brother. Given that it’s always a little dark in the Underground, he sometimes loses track of time.

 

“Oh, sorry to bother you this late at night, Undyne. I was just wondering if you’ve seen my brother recently. He left a couple hours ago and hasn’t come back yet.”

 

“Well, when was the last time you went home?”

 

“Uh… Well, I guess it hasn’t been for a few hours”

 

“Then check there, wingnut!” Undyne smiled. “I’m a little busy right now. I’m sure he’s fine. Just call me in the morning if you haven’t found anything, ok?” Undyne was quick to shut the door on him, but Sans didn’t mind.

 

\-----------------------------

 

“Papyrus!!!” Sans called. Still no answer. It was late and Sans was almost home. He assumed Papyrus would be there because of the time, but he didn’t want to risk missing him, so he  _ walked _ back from Undyne’s. It was nearly three in the morning when he got back to his house. Sans opened the door quietly and went inside.

 

He walked up the stairs and quietly opened Papyrus’ door. He looked around, but there didn’t seem to be anyone home. He went back to his room.

 

At this point he was way too tired to care.  _ He’ll be back. He always comes back. Hell, he’ll probably be here when I wake up. Making breakfast or rambling on about some new puzzles or something.  _ Sans chuckled to himself. He laid down on his bed, and before he knew it, he was asleep.

 

\-----------------------------

 

Sans looked around. He appeared to be in the judgement hall.

 

_ What the hell? Wasn’t I just in my room? How did I end up here- _

 

_...That hell spawn. They did this to me! _

 

Frisk was standing in the middle of the room wielding nothing but a small stick and a couple of food items.

 

“You!” Sans approached them quickly.

 

“What did you do to my timeline?! What did you do to my brother?!” Sans was furious. He threw Frisk up against one of the pillars.

 

“P-Please don’t hurt me” Frisk was struggling to get away, but every time they moved Sans would only slam them up against the wall harder. 

 

“Don’t play dumb with me. This is all your fault. You’re tearing me apart inside!” Sans slammed Frisk off of another pillar and into the ceiling. They fell to the floor hard, but somehow weren’t dead. Frisk tried to call out for help, but Sans only made it harder for them to move. He summoned his gaster blasters and stationed both of them in front of the child.

 

“None of this would have ever happened if you never came down here! I would be able to feel things again, and everyone would be happy and full of hope like they used to be. But because of you my brother HATES ME! HE LEFT BECAUSE OF YOU!!” Sans slammed them against the pillar on the other side of the room.

 

“S-SANS PLEASE! YOU’RE HURTING ME!” Frisk started crying.

 

“Don’t you give me that shit! You remember the resets just as well as I do. You know what you did! You know how much you hurt me. Over and over and over you make my life a living hell, and there’s nothing I can do about it! But you continue to reset the game and every-fucking-time you somehow find a new way to torture me! This time you didn’t even have to kill my brother!”Sans continued to slam Frisk off the walls over and over. His eye was blazing.

 

“BROTHER...”

 

“...I hope you burn in hell.” He shot his gaster blasters so hard that Sans himself got launched back. He hit the wall. The force of the impact was enough to wake him up.

 

\-----------------------------

 

There he sat.

 

His back against the wall.

 

Sans looked around. His breathing was heavy.  

 

His room was a wreck. There were burn marks everywhere from what looked like his blasters, and there were dents all over the walls, too.

 

Sans’ eyes focused on the center of the room. There sat a pile of dust, a red scarf, and a plate of spaghetti with a note on it.

 

Sans was shaking. He very slowly got up and walked over to the note. He collapsed to his knees and began to read it.

 

“DEAREST BROTHER,

 

IT IS I, PAPYRUS. I DID NOT MEAN TO ALARM YOU WITH MY ABSENCE, I HAVE SIMPLY BEEN GATHERING INGREDIENTS. I KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOW SLEEPING, BUT I NOTICED YOU HAVE BEEN HAVING A BAD TIME LATELY. I THOUGHT, AS YOUR BROTHER, THAT IT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP YOU GET THROUGH THIS, SO I HAVE DEVISED A 4 STEP PLAN FOR YOUR SUCCESS.

 

STEP 1: WAKE UP TO SPAGHETTI

 

STEP 2: TRAINING WITH ME AND UNDYNE FOR THE NEXT WEEK

 

STE-

 

The rest was washed away by Sans’ tears, making it impossible to read.

 

The room was silent for a long time as Sans cried.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one should be out soonish. Kudos and comments and stuff are always appreciated! Thank you guys for being such awesome people and reading my fic! It really means a lot to me :) Have a good day.


	4. Chapter 4

It was quiet in the Underground that day, and many days to follow. The death of Papyrus took its toll on everyone. It seemed like in just one night, all hope was lost.

 

No one blamed Sans for the death of his brother, but then again, no one knew what really happened. Sans was wracked with grief, and shut himself away for months. Sometimes friends would come by to ask if he was alright, but all he ever did was tell them to go away. He didn’t feel like there was much more he  _ could _ do.

 

Sans didn’t go to Grillby’s anymore. He didn’t have the appetite. The only time anyone would actually see Sans was if they were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of him recalibrating Papyrus’ puzzles. But even then, people were quick to avoid him.  

 

Even though only one of the brothers died that night, everyone had a feeling that they had really lost two.

 

The first few nights without his brother were the worst. Every night he would walk into Papyrus’ room to read him his bedtime story. He sat down at the end of his bed and read the same story every night;  _ Peek-a-boo with Fluffy Bunny _ . The ending always got him. He’d also spend some time talking about the puzzles, spaghetti, and tell Papyrus all about how everyone was doing.  Of course, these were all lies. Sans never left the house, and he knew that Papyrus was gone. He just hoped that maybe he could hear him.

 

His routine lasted only about a week, or two. He eventually gave up on trying to bring his brother back, and accepted that there would be no reset anytime soon. Sans had been without Papyrus before, but this time was different. He didn’t feel guilty about it, like he usually did. He tried so hard to keep Papyrus safe, and even though it wasn’t usually his fault, he always blamed himself.

 

This time, he tried everything in his power to feel bad about what he did. And over time, not being able to made him bitter. He would snap at people who tried to approach him, and soon, his feelings all started to melt away. With Papyrus gone, Sans had no desire to have them back. He liked being empty inside. It hurt a lot less than thinking about being his baby brother’s murderer.

 

This day in particular, Sans woke up feeling angry. Not about his brother, but about there being no reset in almost the last year. Sometimes this happened, but usually it was after Frisk had made friends with everyone, and they all lived happily on the surface. Those endings were always the worst because Sans knew the inevitable, so he never saw a point in trying to enjoy it. It was only going to be reset again. That’s why he often killed Frisk the moment they walked down the pathway. This time it was only messed up because of Toriel walking through the barrier. Sans wondered what they said in the ruins for her to care that much about them. Maybe this Frisk was different, but even if they were, it wouldn’t have mattered much anyway.

 

Maybe Sans was just selfish, keeping everyone from their well deserved happiness, all for his convenience. But he really didn’t care too much for anyone, anymore. Which is why it was odd that he actually got out of bed that morning.

 

Sans needed to do something, anything really. He decided to go to the kitchen and make something. He wasn’t the best cook in the world, but he was definitely hungry, and he hadn’t eaten anything in a few days.

 

He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, and got out all the ingredients to make a quiche. In his opinion, Sans wasn’t good at too many things, but making quiches was one of them. Papyrus was never really partial to its “breakfast-like appearance.”

 

After the quiche was made, Sans figured it would be good to get some fresh air in his system. Luckily he knew just the place to go when he wanted to be alone.

 

\-----------------------------

 

He teleported to an empty room outside. There was nothing there except a bench and a bright blue echo flower. He liked to listen to the echo flowers, they always had such interesting stories. When he walked up this time, the flower just made snoring noises. He assumed they were his own.

  
  


Sans sat down on the bench and sighed. He was about to take a bite of his quiche, when he noticed that he was sitting on something. He moved up a little to feel on the seat, and pulled something out from under him. He realized that he was staring down at Papyrus’ scarf. It must have gotten stuck to him before he teleported. He suddenly felt overwhelmed with guilt.

 

He sighed heavily.

 

“I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t want it to go this far... I didn’t want to hurt anyone, Pap. There are so many things you never understood while you were here. So many things I could never have told you. Even if you were still here, I'm just going to keep getting worse. I know that for a fact. I guess, in a way, I am protecting you. You wouldn’t want to see my like this. I wouldn’t want you to see me like this... I-I’m a murderer, Pap. I killed you.. and- not just you. I’ve killed so many people. Friends, enemies… Everyone. Maybe it’s better if you sit this round out, buddy. I’m about to do some bad things that I know you’d never agree with. But, I’m just so tired of this hell, Pap. I’m so tired of hurting, and hurting  _ you. _ I thought I could control it. I thought I could keep it bottled up forever, and keep going like nothing happened. I guess this was my breaking point, and i’m glad you’re not here to see it... I wanted to keep you safe, Pap. I guess... _ I just wasn’t ready for the responsibility. _ ”

 

Sans gripped the scarf tight and teleported away. He’d lost his appetite.

 

\-----------------------------

 

He decided that instead of shutting himself in all day, he might as well check on his Snowdin sentry, since he hadn’t been there in a few months.

 

When he got there, there were a few monsters sitting in the general area, but most of them fled. All but two of them ran away, leaving only Snowdrake and Jerry.

 

Sans had little to no patience left for talking, so he figured that if he went around, he could bypass them, but they approached him anyway.

 

_ Battle engaged _

 

The moment that Snowdrake started making a joke, Sans cut him off with an attack. Snowdrake was killed instantly.

 

Jerry, on the other hand, started mumbling about the wi-fi connection, hardly paying any attention to Sans at all. He was furious. Sans prepared a bone attack to wipe him out all in one go, but when he summoned his bones, it hardly took down Jerry’s health at all.

 

Sans’ eye glowed blue again as he summoned his gaster blasters. He set them on Jerry, but still, hardly any damage was done to him. Jerry continued mumbling, but Sans decided to stop listening to what it was about. He threw bone attack after bone attack at Jerry. Until finally, he died. Sans was breathing hard, and staring down at the pile of dust that used to be harmless civilians. He was too mad to care, though. Sans walked over their ashes, not caring about the dust that now covered his slippers and clothes.

 

He clenched his fists and continued walking.

 

_ Battle engaged. _

 

Lesser Dog appeared in front of Sans. He’d always liked lesser dog. It was fun to make him stretch his neck out. Sans had always considered it a bit of a harmless prank. Thinking about all the little things that used to make him happy pissed him off.

 

He attacked lesser dog with full force, killing him instantly.

 

Sans stared down at the pile of dust. He felt..  _ different _ . He didn’t know why, but something about killing made him feel  _ empowered. _ He didn’t particularly like that this was what it took to make him feel, but he decided to just roll with it.

 

\-----------------------------

 

Sans was killing monster after monster, not realizing how much time went by. He walked around Snowdin a little more, but he felt an eeriness around him. It felt deserted, and the only thing accompanying him were the ashes of one's he loved. His clothes were stained in it. Not another monster to be seen for miles. He figured they all fled.

 

“ _...but nobody came _ ”

 

That voice was all too familiar to him. Sans whipped around to see a small golden flower laughing. He was enraged at the sight of Flowey, but the flower didn’t seem to care. He just kept laughing. Sans threw a bone attack at him with all his might, but when the dust cleared out, there was nothing there. This was probably his cue to go home.

 

\-----------------------------

 

Sans woke up the next morning feeling better than usual. He thought it might be a nice time to go visit Grillby, since they hadn’t talked for a while. He felt like he should have been burdened by what he did, but, on the contrary, he felt as if a weight had been lifted. He didn’t feel guilty about any of it.

 

Sans got dressed in a clean blue jacket and walked outside, it was cold, and empty. He walked over to Grillby’s, but no one was there. Sitting at the counter was a burger and fries with a note attached.

 

_ Sans, you do what you have to do. Here’s your sandwich. _

 

  * __Grillby__



 

 

Sans chuckled to himself and walked over to the counter. Grillby was a good friend, and even if he didn’t understand all of Sans’ motives, he still stood by him.

 

As Sans sat down and ate his sandwich, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched. He had had that feeling ever since he left the outskirts of Snowdin. Deep down he assumed it was probably Flowey watching him, but Sans didn’t want anything to do with that creep, so he figured it would be better for everyone if he just ignored the feeling.

 

Finishing his sandwich, Sans slowly stood up and wiped the ketchup off his face with some of the napkins Grillby left for him. He figured that since everyone in Snowdin had probably evacuated, he should head over to Waterfall and see how Undyne was doing.

 

Sans knew that heading to Waterfall wasn’t going to be easy. He had apparently already made a name for himself as a killer, so Undyne probably wouldn’t be too pleased to see him. He was sure that he was going to have to fight her, so Sans thought he might as well stop by his house first and make a wardrobe change.  _ Wouldn’t want to get dust all over my nice blue jacket, now would we? _

 

_ \----------------------------- _

 

Teleporting to him room, Sans started rummaging through his drawers for another outfit to wear. The amount of blue jackets and black shorts in his drawers was almost amusing. He moved down a few drawers only to find various tee shirts with puns on them. Along with the shirts he found a lab coat. He decided to close the drawer.

 

After 10 more minutes of just looking around his room, he decided to look under his bed. He pulled out a pile of clothes. Under the bed, he found sweaters, tee shirts, and even more jackets. Finally, he decided on his gray jacket. It was a little big for him, but Sans could care less. Along with his jacket, he grabbed a pair of red shorts he’d worn to a costume party sometime last year.

 

He grabbed Papyrus’ scarf and made his way downstairs. As much as he wanted to forget about his brother, and forget about everything he’d done so far, he knew he couldn’t. Sans decided to wear the scarf as a reminder of what he did. A reminder of who once was. He found the irony empowering. In a twisted way, he liked the idea of being the bad guy. It filled him with...

 

_ determination. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Here I am. I am soooooo sorry for not updating. I was having a bit of writer's block trying to write the Undyne battle. In the end I guess this happened. So you can expect something to go down in the next chapter. I really needed to write in a costume change anyway because I wanted this AU to be a little more official. I liked the idea of a gray jacket because it's the color of dust. Anyway, thank you so much for reading, as always. And I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

The walk through Waterfall had been less than intriguing for the skeleton. Most of the monsters had either fled or had already been killed, at this point. So his expedition remained, for the most part, uninterrupted. The only murders he’d committed thus far were the occasional Woshua, and a sizeable amount of Moldsmals.

Sans very quickly grew bored at the lack of monsters there were to fight. _Just a little bit longer, Sansy_ he thought to himself. He was sure that walking through the lantern rooms would find him some encounters. 

Honestly, he could have just teleported there, but where was the fun in that? He didn’t know why, but grinding for the scared ones was the most fun for him. Those ones were usually hiding when he found them. Sans liked to use this opportunity to gain their trust before killing them. It was always more entertaining to see their faces after he betray them.

_Battle engaged_

*Shyren hides in the corner but somehow encounters you anyway

Sans knew she wasn’t strong, and since he probably wasn’t going to find another encounter for a while anyway, he decided to have a little fun with her. 

Sans very carefully extended his arm to Shyren and began to hum softly. After a little while, She joined him. He gave her a relaxed smile as they sang together. 

Sans realized that he was drawing a crowd of weaker monsters, who had come out of hiding to see them perform. Soon, the entire room was filled with monsters. He encouraged them to sing along by waving his hands. They bought it. He looked back over at Shyren, who was smiling and waving at her fans. 

Suddenly, Sans raised his arms at the crowd and conjured a sharp bone attack throughout the room, _slaughtering everyone instantly._

The amount of dust that ensued had consumed the every speck of fresh air left. Sans couldn’t help but laugh at the sight it. His laugh was... _demented._ And If he hadn’t known any better, he wouldn’t even have recognized it as his own. 

He waited a little while for the dust to clear out before he continued walking. His hands were nonchalantly tucked into his jacket pockets as he stepped over his lifeless friends. Sans hummed softly as he walked. 

\-----------------------------

Walking through Waterfall wasn’t as eventful as Sans thought it would be. He had killed most of the villagers at the concert, so it was mostly just quiet. Then something peculiar happened. As he was walking past the statue on his way to Undyne, he encountered a kid. 

“Yo! You can’t hold an umbrella either? If you’re walking anyway, I guess I’ll go with you haha...”

“I think that’s ill-advised, kid. Why don’t you, uh... run along and find your family or something?”

“Nah. They’re pretty lame. They all ran off for no reason. I’d rather stick with you. Let’s go”

Sans didn’t want to hurt the kid. His childlike presence sort of reminded him of his brother. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to have a little company. 

“Alright, kid. But only for a little… There-uh... There’s a really bad guy out here, you know? He... would probably hurt you real bad if he saw you here all by yourself”

Sans felt a bit guilty for leading the kid on like this. Sans knew he couldn’t be trusted around him. It was only a matter of time before something bad happened. He held the back of his skull, waiting for an answer.

“Oh, I’m not alone! I have the great Undyne to protect me!!”

Sans couldn’t help but smile at his innocence.

“Heh.. What makes you so sure she’s the ‘Great and Wonderful Undyne’?”

“Are you kidding me?! Undyne is sooooooo cool. She beats up bad guys, and never loses! If I was that bad guy, I’d wet the bed every night knowing she was gonna beat me up!! haha”

Sans’ smile was replaced with worry. He swallowed hard at the thought of fighting Undyne. He knew he could dodge, but her tactics were head on and direct. He’d worked so hard to get where he was. Losing to her wasn’t an option. Realizing that there had been a silence, Sans laughed awkwardly at the kid, trying hard not to sound uncomfortable. Luckily, the kid started going on about Asgore and some flower project, and Sans stopped listening. 

Eventually, the two made it to a clearing. The king’s castle was easy to spot in the distance. Sans stopped to admire it for a moment.

 _Almost there… Just a little bit longer_ Sans thought to himself. 

The kid, on the other hand, was running all over the place. Sans couldn’t help but feel pissed. He closed his eyes tight and yelled. 

“Would you cut it out!?!!?” Sans’ voice rang through the clearing. When he opened his eyes, he saw a landmine of large bones sticking up all around the clearing. They were jagged at the end, piercing through the ground like knifes. When he looked over at the kid, he found that he was completely surrounded, trapped by Sans’ attack. The kid was pinned between a few bones, shaking helplessly. He had backed himself up as far as he could, leaning on the wall of bones behind him.

Sans hesitated for a while before speaking. The initial shock of what happened had sent him into a state of panic, and he ran towards the kid, hoping to help.

“Kid… I-I’m so sorry. I-” The bones faded now, and the kid stumbled onto his back from where the wall used to be. As Sans got closer, he tried harder and harder to push himself away by his feet, without much luck. Sans knelt down to try and help him up, but that only seemed to scare him more.

“Stay away from me!!” The kid screamed and struggled hard to get away. When Sans saw his face, he realized that he was crying, trying his hardest to hide from him. It didn’t take long for him to realize that the kid had been hit by one of his blue attacks. He struggled and screamed, but it was no use. Even on a normal sized monster, the gravity of this attack was no easy feat to overcome. The force on this attack was easily 1000x stronger than that kid was. And since he didn’t didn’t have any arms, there was no way the he was getting up anytime soon.

“What did you do to me?! P-Please just let me go…” The kid’s breathing started to get heavier. It was obvious that it was getting harder for him to breathe.

“I… I really didn’t mean to hurt you.. I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry” The look of guilt on Sans’ face was undeniable. He was frantic inside, but still trying his hardest to stay calm. 

“Why did you hurt all of those people?” He whimpered. The question hit Sans like a freight train.

 _He knows.._ Sans thought to himself. _This isn’t good._

The small monster continued to speak softly. “I-I’ve seen you around before, you used to guard the door to the ruins. You always seemed like a good monster. You don’t have to do this.” He was pleading, just like all of his other victims. 

Sans sighed and calmed himself before speaking. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand, kiddo… Ya know, you sort of remind me of someone. Someone really close to me.”

Sans could see that the weight was getting to be too much for the kid. He was writhing on the ground and, soon after, started to scream. Sans was trying to keep the kid calm, but at the same time he was trying to keep himself calm. 

“Hey, Kid, look at me, ok? It’s going to be over soon. I don’t know why it’s lasted this long, but I promise you’re going to be ok.”

“A-Are you going to fight Undyne?” He stuttered.

Sans paused for a long time before answering, talking more to himself than the kid. 

“Yeah… I don’t really have a choice at this point. I’ve caused too many problems this round, it would be pointless to go back. I don’t expect you to understand why I’m doing this. Most people I tell about the timelines just think I’m crazy, anyway”

“Timelines?”

“Yeah… But you know what? Forget I said anything.”

“Undyne’s going to win, you know? You’ll never beat her.” Monster Kid looked angry, almost as if he would have fought Sans if he could. Sans had no desire to kill him though, or even hurt him for that matter. 

At that moment, Monster Kid gasped for air, and Sans watched patiently from behind him as the attack finally wore off. Still shake-y, he pulled himself up to his feet, and walked back to where they came from. Monster Kid didn’t even want to look at him… _But he did wait for me_ he thought. He stopped for a moment in his tracks to see if Sans would say something, but when he turned around, the skeleton had disappeared, without a trace. 

\-----------------------------

 _That’s enough social interaction for one day._ He couldn’t bear to see the kid suffer anymore, and besides, there was a task at hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry guys... I'll hopefully be back on track here soon


End file.
